Australian Open: Medvedev maintains dominance en route to maiden Melbourne semi

By Sports Desk February 17, 2021

Daniil Medvedev secured his first Australian Open semi-final berth after continuing his domination of fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in straight sets.

Medvedev starred in the Melbourne heat as countryman Rublev faded, winning 7-5 6-3 6-2 on Wednesday to reach his third grand slam semi-final, equalling Alex Metreveli for third place on the Open Era list for most major semis by a Russian man.

World number four Medvedev – the fifth Russian man to reach the Australian Open semis in the Open Era, after Metreveli (1972), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1999-2000), Marat Safin (2002, 2004-05) and Aslan Karatsev (2021) – will face either 20-time slam champion Rafael Nadal or Stefanos Tsitsipas for a spot in the decider.

Medvedev and Rublev were meeting for the fourth time on the ATP Tour – their second in a grand slam quarter-final, with the former winning all previous meetings in straight sets. 

Runner-up at the 2019 US Open, Medvedev had a glimpse on Rublev's serve before breaking in the sixth game for a 4-2 lead, only to hand the break straight back to his countryman.

The tense battle continued behind closed doors on Rod Laver Arena as a tie-break loomed large, until Medvedev closed out the 46-minute set on Rublev's serve.

It was a similar theme in the second set, with little separating the two Russian hopefuls under the warm Melbourne sun.

Rublev, who won five ATP Tour titles last year – more than any other player, while earning a joint-best 41 wins in 2020 alongside world number one Novak Djokovic, continued to take the match to Medvedev.

Three break-point chances came Rublev's way in the seventh game, but he was unable to convert and Medvedev made him pay as the world number four broke the very next game before earning a two-sets-to-love lead.

Rublev – eyeing his first slam semi – deteriorated in the warm conditions, often hunched over between points while trying to keep cool in the shade, as Medvedev cruised.

 

Data Slam: Medvedev extends streak
There is no stopping Medvedev at the moment after he extended his winning streak to 19 matches, already a career-best run – dating back to the Vienna Open last October.

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Medvedev – 30/33
Rublev – 20/39

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Medvedev – 14/4
Rublev – 8/3

BREAK POINTS WON
Medvedev – 5/11
Rublev – 1/5

Related items

  • Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea: Late Nkunku strike snatches victory for Blues Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea: Late Nkunku strike snatches victory for Blues

    Christopher Nkunku proved Chelsea's hero as his late strike secured a narrow 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League.
     
    The forward climbed off the bench to strike the winner five minutes from time at the Vitality Stadium, where Robert Sanchez kept out Evanilson's first-half penalty.

    Bournemouth looked the more likely to take all three points in the contest, with Marcus Tavernier's long-range thunderbolt rattling the crossbar early on.

    Sanchez then came to rescue on 38 minutes by denying Evanilson from 12 yards, albeit after he had conceded the spot-kick for a foul on the Brazilian.

    The woodwork denied the Cherries again after the break, with Ryan Christie seeing his precise low effort hit the outside of Sanchez's right post.

    However, it was Chelsea who snatched the points with five minutes remaining. Receiving the ball from Jadon Sancho, Nkunku cleverly skipped away from a couple of challenges before slotting past Mark Travers in the Bournemouth net.

    Data Debrief: More happy travels for super sub Nkunku

    Nkunku's piece of individual brilliance settled the contest. All four of his Premier League goals for Chelsea have come away from home as a substitute.

    The Blues held out at the other end to claim their first away league clean sheet in 18 attempts, while winning four straight matches on the road for the first time since 2022.

    Meanwhile, history was made at the Vitality Stadium with the referee showing a total of 14 yellow cards; the highest amount issued in a single Premier League game.

  • Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win

    Novak Djokovic marked his return to action with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Greece's Ioannis Xilas to put Serbia in control of the Davis Cup tie. 

    The 24-time major winner was playing his first match since his US Open third-round defeat by Alexei Popyrin at Flushing Meadows a fortnight ago.

    And Djokovic, who helped his nation win the Davis Cup in 2010, looked close to his best as he dropped just a single game, while converting five of the seven break points he forced.

    Wrapping up a dominant victory in just 45 minutes, he put Serbia 2-0 to the good in the World Group I tie.

    Elsewhere in that group, Casper Ruud helped Norway wrap up a 3-1 win over Portugal.

    The three-time major finalist, who put his nation 2-1 to the good alongside Viktor Durasovic in the doubles rubber, was a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor over Jaime Faria in their singles clash.

    Later in the day, Argentina booked their place in the final eight after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni saw off Finland in the doubles decider.

  • 'You cannot switch off for one second' - Silva rues late West Ham equaliser 'You cannot switch off for one second' - Silva rues late West Ham equaliser

    Marco Silva conceded Fulham "cannot switch off for one second" in the Premier League, after Danny Ings' last-gasp equaliser denied the Cottagers all three points against West Ham.

    The hosts appeared on course to take the spoils in the London derby at Craven Cottage, where Raul Jimenez put them in front after 24 minutes.

    However, the visitors snatched a dramatic equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when substitute Ings fired past Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.

    And Silva acknowledged his side's brief lapse in concentration proved costly.

    "It just shows that in this Premier League, you cannot switch off for one second," he told BBC Sport. "We are aware of the quick throws, and we have to keep focus and concentration.

    "A big frustration for us because, before that, it was a good performance. It was clear we were the best team on the pitch. They did not have one shot [on target] in the first half.

    "We should have won this game. It was not a game where West Ham pushed us back. The goal came after we switched off. It just shows you have to keep focus until the last second."

    Silva also felt Fulham should have been awarded a first-half penalty when Adama Traore was challenged by Max Kilman.

    "It was a clear, clear, penalty in my opinion," he added. "It's difficult to understand why it was not a penalty in that situation. I don't even want to say anything more about it."

    Meanwhile, West Ham boss paid tribute to Ings, who was making only his second Premier League appearance of the season - with both coming as a late substitute.

    "It was a very 'Danny Ings' goal!", Lopetegui told West Ham's official website. "He is always agile in those kinds of actions, and he took his chance very well.

    "I'm really happy for him, because he hasn't played much up until now, but he is always ready to go. He is a really good example to all of his team-mates, and it's great to see his work pay off.

    "As a player, it can be hard when you don't know when the coach is going to call you. The important thing is to try and always be ready, because you are going to be needed at some point.

    "Scoring in the last minute today is important, because he's shown everyone that you have to believe until the end. Even though there were things we could do better today, we kept going, and we got something out of the game."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.